Perhaps you know it already; maybe you have never heard; or maybe you simply need to be reminded. As a Christian, you are just a pilgrim passing through. Your heart must not be focused on the temporary world in which you live. Rather, you should be focused on the next world. Like Abraham, you should be seeking the city which is built by God. However, as others have rightly said, we ought not to be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. God has left us here on earth so that we can point others to Him. Jeremiah, the prophet, lived Jerusalem when many of his people had been carried away into exile by the Babylonians.
Jeremiah wrote a letter to the elders of the people who were in exile. The letter began, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 'Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. 'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.'(Jeremiah 29:4-7 NASU)
As a Christian, you are much like the exiled people of Israel. Jeremiah’s letter can serve as a sort of communication directly from heaven for us. The exiles all wanted to get back home where Jeremiah was. As Christians, you and I look forward to heaven but live in what amounts to a foreign land. We are surrounded by people with different lifestyles than us. We are surrounded by people with different values than us. We are surrounded by people who have different plans for their lives. We are exiles in a foreign land. It will be that way until Christ returns.
As Christians, we live in what amounts to a foreign land. We would be wise to follow the Lord’s advice given from the pen of Jeremiah, Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. God causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Proverbs and other wisdom literature in the Bible tell of God rewarding the righteous and punishing the unjust. We often fall into thinking that this means here and now, in this life. While it might happen in this life, most of the time it happens in eternity. So God continues to be merciful on all mankind. We would be wise to pray for and seek the welfare of the city where we live because that will be beneficial to us.
I also maintain that there is another less selfish reason to seek the welfare of the city in which God has placed us. Unbelievers will notice that we seek their welfare; that will arouse their curiosity. They will seek to understand why we would do such a thing. This will give us a platform for proclaiming Christ and His goodness. Also know that God is not caught by surprise about where you are located. Jeremiah 29:7 clearly states that God sent you to the city where you are. Seek that city’s welfare because it will glorify Him and benefit you.
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